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I wonder what all the Hamiltonistas who claimed that National Hero Driver was going to Red Bull will think.
The '13 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread op updated 16/10
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- pezzarinho17
First move made and it could be critical to all of the speculated big moves... Webber is a driver seeking a 1 year contract, whereas the other big names will require longer contracts to teams. If Sebastian Vettel is going to Ferrari in 2014 then who will sign the one year deal at Ferrari? Hamilton won't, Massa won't get the chance so I think it's now Perez's seat. Hamilton to stay at McLaren, 3 year deal with release clause?
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Ferrari won't take a driver for a single season.
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- pezzarinho17
In which case, where do you see it all shaking up? Presume that means you aren't expecting Vettel to join Ferrari anytime soon?
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I think it's far more likely that Ferrari will take Massa for one more season, and reassess for 2014.
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Ah I see, I thought you meant they would not have someone in the seat for the one year period.
Just to throw this in the mix then, what of Alguersuari and his knowledge of the 2013 Prielli's? Not just with Ferrari by the way. Can definitely see him making a comeback to F1, but with which team?
Just to throw this in the mix then, what of Alguersuari and his knowledge of the 2013 Prielli's? Not just with Ferrari by the way. Can definitely see him making a comeback to F1, but with which team?
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What about it? Lucas di Grassi had advanced knowledge of the 2012 Pirellis, and that failed to secure him a seat. Likewise, Pedro de la Rosa had advanced knowledge of the tyres, and that hasn't helped him or HRT in the slightest.
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True, but as the latest season's have gone by the tyres have had a greater appearance to a team's performance. The tyre's have changed drastically, firstly to reduce the marbles we saw all over the circuit but also to keep the show unpredictable and exciting. There will be yet further changes next year as well, and no-one outside of Pirelli will be sure in what way the tyres will be different. I can see 2013 being another year of unlocking and understanding the tyres as we have seen to great extent in 2012, so his testing will mean more than it did for Di Grassi and De La Rosa.
In an ideal world where drivers didn't buy seats, I could see him in a Williams. As it stands though, probably lower if at all.
In an ideal world where drivers didn't buy seats, I could see him in a Williams. As it stands though, probably lower if at all.
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Sorry, but I think you're trying to make a case for Alguersuari coming back when there isn't one to be had.
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- pezzarinho17
Just a "to be considered" piece of the puzzle and no more than that.
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You know this how? They aren't going to have any leaps in performance because of one driver's knowledge of the tyres, especially after their man focus has been construction of a new facility.
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Latest rumors:
Hamilton wants to talk to Lotus. Button in same article clearly votes for McLaren to keep Lewis.
Vergne and Kobayashi said by the same links compendium to be on the hot seat with 2013 rides in jeopardy. I've linked to one article that hints at the Vergne issue; I've seen one with the Kobayashi rumor this week but am not finding it again this evening.
Horner, meanwhile, has pretty clearly closed the door for Buemi to return to the track with RB or Toro Rosso.
Hamilton wants to talk to Lotus. Button in same article clearly votes for McLaren to keep Lewis.
Vergne and Kobayashi said by the same links compendium to be on the hot seat with 2013 rides in jeopardy. I've linked to one article that hints at the Vergne issue; I've seen one with the Kobayashi rumor this week but am not finding it again this evening.
Horner, meanwhile, has pretty clearly closed the door for Buemi to return to the track with RB or Toro Rosso.
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That story was published by The Daily Mail - a tabloid notorious for starting rumours - within hours of Red Bull announcing Webber will stay with them in 2013. They clearly saw that Red Bull was no longer an option, so they invented a story about him going to what they feel to be the next-best team.
Speaking of Hamilton, however, Frank Williams has said he'd like Hamilton if he knew Hamilton was available:
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Not sure where to post this exactly, as there doesn't seem to be a general F1 2012 season thread.
Anyone else find it slightly curious that STR seem to be happy with their performances so far? 6 points? We all know what their 'team role' is, but I've thought they could do much better so far, even with their drivers' level of experience. We're nearing the halfway mark and they only have 6 constructor's points to show for it, whereas last season they finished with 41.
Anyone else find it slightly curious that STR seem to be happy with their performances so far? 6 points? We all know what their 'team role' is, but I've thought they could do much better so far, even with their drivers' level of experience. We're nearing the halfway mark and they only have 6 constructor's points to show for it, whereas last season they finished with 41.
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Well, the car isn't fantastic. In fact, it's pretty weak. And the team will obviously know that, so all things considered, they're probably happy with what Ricciardo and Vergne are doing despite the car's shortcomings.
But as we've seen in the past, Toro Rosso can say they're happy with their drivers, and then replace both of them the next.
But as we've seen in the past, Toro Rosso can say they're happy with their drivers, and then replace both of them the next.
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I'm wondering if we might see Ma Qinghua and/or Rio Haryanto next year. Ma met one of the conditions for a superlicence during testing at Silverstone yesterday, and Haryanto will probably meet them today. It wouldn't surprise me if they do race next year, so that HRT can get some backing from China and Marussia can get it from Indonesia.
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And there's a big empty space on the side of the Marussia that needs filling.
I find it interesting that Haryanto's biggest backers are directly connected to the Indonesian government. Pertamina is a state-owned oil and gas conglomerate, while Telkomsel is a subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia, of which the government owns the majority. And I think he's also got backing through Garuda Indonesia, which is also owned by the government.
It's interesting because Indonesia was lobbying for a Grand Prix back in the 1990s and even built the Sentul circuit to accomodate it. They used to host a rally as well, but motorsports fell out of the public consciousness with the Asian Economic Crisis, the resignation of Suharto, and instability with East Timor seceding. Bernie's attention has shifted to the Americas of late, but Thailand, Vietnam and even Hong Kong have talked up the prospects of races taking place (with various degrees of seriousness). I wonder if Indonesia wants in, and the government is backing Haryanto to further their case.
I find it interesting that Haryanto's biggest backers are directly connected to the Indonesian government. Pertamina is a state-owned oil and gas conglomerate, while Telkomsel is a subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia, of which the government owns the majority. And I think he's also got backing through Garuda Indonesia, which is also owned by the government.
It's interesting because Indonesia was lobbying for a Grand Prix back in the 1990s and even built the Sentul circuit to accomodate it. They used to host a rally as well, but motorsports fell out of the public consciousness with the Asian Economic Crisis, the resignation of Suharto, and instability with East Timor seceding. Bernie's attention has shifted to the Americas of late, but Thailand, Vietnam and even Hong Kong have talked up the prospects of races taking place (with various degrees of seriousness). I wonder if Indonesia wants in, and the government is backing Haryanto to further their case.
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This is really Marussia's first year of competition. Sure, they were Virgin in 2010 and 2011, but this is the first year that they've designed their car properly. And I've heard that they've got a long-term development plan in place - three years minimum - so that they can be reasonably competitive for the first Russian Grand Prix in 2014.
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The team knows they're not competitive, so they're not expecting drivers like di Grassi, d'Ambrosio and Pic to be earth-shattering. The team will have some expectations of those drivers, and provided they meet them, then the team will likely keep them. John Booth has said that they like Pic and would like to keep him on (and they really need to - four drivers in four years is never a good thing). I think the point of testing this week is to get a superlicence for Haryanto in particular (I believe Chilton already has his, having tested for Force India at last year's Young Driver Tests), and they will probably retain him as test driver for the rest of the year and 2013, with a view to giving him a race seat in 2014. Unless Glock leaves at the end of the year, in which case Haryanto might get promoted early.
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To be fair, they did keep Maldonado for 2012. And he's under contract for 2013 and 2014. I imagine that if they get Bottas in the car next year, they would keep him around for at least two years, and probably three.
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The team are reportedly very impressed with both Maldonado (despite his adventures in recklessness) and Bottas. Perhaps the only thing that might stop Bottas from joining the team is if Williams try and succeed in getting Lewis Hamilton.
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But that's only if they can pay his salary demands, which is unlikely.
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